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furnace in attached shop

I pulled this from a previous post:
"Appliances having an ignition source shall be elevated such that the source of ignition is not less than 18 inches (457mm) above the floor in garages. For the purpose of this section, rooms or spaces that are not part of the living space of a dwelling unit and that communicate with a private garage through openings shall be considered to be part of the garage." M1307.3 of the 2006 IRC mechanical code

The setup was a garage and shop. The shop is in the back of the garage, separated by a self closing door, but on the same level as the garage. There is a solid wall between the shop and garage, with just the door. There is a wall furnace in the back shop, with the burners 10" from the floor.

Since this is directly accessible from the garage, should this furnace have been installed higher so that the burners were at least 18" from the floor. You can't drive into the shop, it's a wood shop only. Also, we are under the IMC for plumbing in our state, if it makes any difference.

Re: furnace in attached shop

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

I pulled this from a previous post:
"Appliances having an ignition source shall be elevated such that the source of ignition is not less than 18 inches (457mm) above the floor in garages. For the purpose of this section, rooms or spaces that are not part of the living space of a dwelling unit and that communicate with a private garage through openings shall be considered to be part of the garage." M1307.3 of the 2006 IRC mechanical code

The setup was a garage and shop. The shop is in the back of the garage, separated by a self closing door, but on the same level as the garage. There is a solid wall between the shop and garage, with just the door. There is a wall furnace in the back shop, with the burners 10" from the floor.

Since this is directly accessible from the garage, should this furnace have been installed higher so that the burners were at least 18" from the floor. You can't drive into the shop, it's a wood shop only. Also, we are under the IMC for plumbing in our state, if it makes any difference.

Re: furnace in attached shop

Sticking my neck out here but I would have to disagree with everyone else IF, there is a proper fire wall, fire door, no vents between the shop and garage. If all these were adequate then there should be no difference between a shop sharing a garage slab than a slab on grade house sharing a garage slab.

I've inspected model homes where the builder had made one stall an office, complete with it's own furnace set on the floor in a utility closet. The word I received from the local building official was as long as there was a fire barrier the space was no longer considered a garage, but living space.

Re: furnace in attached shop

Originally Posted by Ken Rowe

Sticking my neck out here but I would have to disagree with everyone else IF, there is a proper fire wall, fire door, no vents between the shop and garage. If all these were adequate then there should be no difference between a shop sharing a garage slab than a slab on grade house sharing a garage slab.

I've inspected model homes where the builder had made one stall an office, complete with it's own furnace set on the floor in a utility closet. The word I received from the local building official was as long as there was a fire barrier the space was no longer considered a garage, but living space.

KR: Maybe life is running on a different set of tracks where you live. In the real world, at least in the United States, residential builders do not build "fire walls" and do not install "fire doors" in homes. But hey, that's just reality, and not the place where you were willing to stick your neck out, right?

Re: furnace in attached shop

Originally Posted by Ken Rowe

Sticking my neck out here but I would have to disagree with everyone else IF, there is a proper fire wall, fire door, no vents between the shop and garage. If all these were adequate then there should be no difference between a shop sharing a garage slab than a slab on grade house sharing a garage slab.

I've inspected model homes where the builder had made one stall an office, complete with it's own furnace set on the floor in a utility closet. The word I received from the local building official was as long as there was a fire barrier the space was no longer considered a garage, but living space.

Is it part of an attached living space? No That makes it like an attached garage/shop/shed.

Re: furnace in attached shop

Originally Posted by Jim Robinson

I pulled this from a previous post:
"Appliances having an ignition source shall be elevated such that the source of ignition is not less than 18 inches (457mm) above the floor in garages. For the purpose of this section, rooms or spaces that are not part of the living space of a dwelling unit and that communicate with a private garage through openings shall be considered to be part of the garage." M1307.3 of the 2006 IRC mechanical code

The setup was a garage and shop. The shop is in the back of the garage, separated by a self closing door, but on the same level as the garage. There is a solid wall between the shop and garage, with just the door. There is a wall furnace in the back shop, with the burners 10" from the floor.

Since this is directly accessible from the garage, should this furnace have been installed higher so that the burners were at least 18" from the floor. You can't drive into the shop, it's a wood shop only. Also, we are under the IMC for plumbing in our state, if it makes any difference.

The highlight pretty much tells all. I guess the only difference would be a hobby room in the home off of the garage with the same seperation wall and solid core door with weather stripping that is the norm between the home and garage. Hobby room meaning not a wood working shop that could actually be considered part of the home even if it had its own HVAC set up.

Re: furnace in attached shop

This is from 2003 IMC section 304.3 commentary;
An appliance installed in a closet or room that is only accessible from the garage must be considered as part of the garage for application of this section. Even though the room may be separated from the garage by walls and a door, there is no practical means of making the door vapor tight nor is there any assurance the door will remain closed during normal use.

Re: furnace in attached shop

Originally Posted by Ted Menelly

The highlight pretty much tells all. I guess the only difference would be a hobby room in the home off of the garage with the same seperation wall and solid core door with weather stripping that is the norm between the home and garage. Hobby room meaning not a wood working shop that could actually be considered part of the home even if it had its own HVAC set up.

I think that's it Ted. Where a "hobby room" or even an office built inside the garage would meet the definition of "living space" a wood working shop would not. Probably why the local jurisdiction passed the home I was talking about.

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